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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. field — for sport
  3. bore — to drill
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. clip — for paper
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. rush — hurry
  13. deal — to handle
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — to cut
  16. key — in music
  17. clip — a video
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. field — a subject
  20. plane — a tool
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — the most important part

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com